Engine fumes eliminator



United States Patent 2,877,701 ENGINE FUMES ELIM'INATQRP Hana w. Whitaker, ntrnaaoaetni Application June 25, 1956, Serial No. 593,511 2 Claims. or. 98 43 This invention relates to an engine fumes eliminator, and more particularly to a device for eliminating engine fumes from the holds of motorboats and the like and also from other closed compartments such as engine testing houses and other industrial engine rooms.

An object of this invention is to provide such a device which will eliminate dangerous fumes, such as those resulting from the spillage of gasoline and other combustible materials from combustion engines.

A further object of the invention is to provide such a device whereby the fumes will be drawn into the engine, burned therein, and then exhausted through the regular exhaust pipe.

A further object is the provision of means for drawing fumes from different locations in and adjoining a hold or other compartment in which an engine is contained.

A still further object of this invention is to provide such a device which is inexpensive to produce and which may be readily attached to a conventional engine.

A still further object is to provide such a device which may be connected to the intake system of the engine in such a manner that it will become inoperative and not affect the operation of the engine upon water being drawn into said device when the hold is flooded.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearly understood from the following description and from the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. l is a side view of a motorboat with parts thereof broken away and showing an installation of my improved fumes eliminator.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged side view of a carburetor illustrating the manner in which my improved fumes eliminator is attached thereto.

Fig. 3 is a front view thereof.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged View of the fume pipe provided with a backfire arrester at one end of the pipe As shown in the drawings, the numeral 5 denotes the hull of a conventional motorboat having the usual floors 6, 7 and 8 and partitions 9 and 10 that are spaced from the bottom of the hull and provide the hold 11 in which is usually contained the engine 12 which drives the propeller shaft 13 with the propeller 14 thereon. The said engine has a carburetor 15 which is connected to an intake manifold 16 and gasoline or other combustible fuel is supplied to said carburetor through a suitable fuel pipe 17 which is usually disposed within the hold or similar compartment.

The said carburetors are generally provided with an intake portion 18 to which there is connected a conventional flame arrester 19 having an intake hood 20 that contains a suitable screen 21 to arrest any flame discharged through the intake portion 18 due to backfiring in the engine.

During the operation of said engine, air is drawn into the carburetor through the screen 21. The said air is then mixed with gasoline or other combustible fuel to form a combustible gas which is drawn into the engine through the intake manifold 16. The said I electric spark from the ignition circuit or the leakage in motorboats and the like dueto the possibility of highly inflammable fumes accumulating in the holds and corn partments of such boats, as the result of gases escaping. from the engine or leakage of gasoline or other fuels and then becoming ignited by the occurrence of an of combustion from the engine.

It is well known that such fumes, being heavierthan air, generally accumulate along the bottom of the hold or compartment and are confined therein by the flooring and partitions of the boat so that they cannot readily escape. In some cases, ventilating systems which depend upon the movement of the boat are provided for preventing accumulation of the fumes in the hold, but such systems are ineffective when the boat is not in motion and many fatal accidents have resulted from hold fires which have occurred while the boats have been at anchor. In other cases, the ventilating systems discharge the fumes into the surrounding atmosphere and this is objectionable, as well as dangerous. It is therefore desirable to consume such fumes.

My invention is particularly designed for eliminating the fumes from the bottom of the hold or compartment and thereby eificiently removing all of the fumes due to the fact that they will gravitate to the bottom. The said device therefore includes a series of pipes, indicated at 24, which may be extended to reach any desired location and have open ends, as at 25 and 26, communicating with said hold or compartment at different points adjacent to the bottom thereof. The said pipes are preferably connected to a single branch 27 having at its end a hood 28, which has an open side at 29 that rests upon the screen 21 and communicates therethrough with the intake portion. 18 of the carburetor.

It is noted that said hood 28 covers only a portion of the area of the screen 21. This provides for continuing the supply of air to the carburetor through the uncovered portion of said screen should the pipes 26 become plugged by the presence of an abnormal amount of water upon the bottom of the hold. It will be understood that only a portion of the air supplied through the carburetor is drawn through the pipes 24. The remaining and greater portion of said air is drawn through the uncovered portion of the area of the screen 21 so that the operation of the engine will not be affected should the pipes 24 become temporarily plugged with water. The suction provided through the hood 28 over the relatively small area of the screen 21 which it occupies is not suflicient to draw a column of water up into the engine and, therefore, the said water is automatically prevented from being drawn into the carburetor.

The hood 28 may be readily attached to the conventional screen 21 by suitable means such as clamping hooks 30 and 31 Which may be clamped onto the screen by clamping nuts 32 and 33 that are threaded to said hooks.

When the engine is in operation, air will be sucked into the carburetor through the screen 21. Since a portion of said screen is covered by the hood 28, air will also be sucked in from the bottom of the hold or compartment through the open ends 25 and 26 of the pipes 24. The air which is sucked in will also include any inflammable fumes that may be present and such fumes will therefore be carried into the carburetor from which they will pass into the engine and become ignited therein Patented Mar. 17,. 1959 3 and then be safely eliminated through the exhaust pipe 23;

If desired, a suitable backfire arrester, indicated at 34, maybe used at the ends of the pipes24- as an added safety'precaution.

: I claim:

into the atmosphere *1, A fumes eliminator for the hold of a motorboat: and the like having an internal combustion engine in-' eluding a carburetor having an intake openingand a flamearrester connected to said opening and having a screen through which air is drawn into the carburetor, thefs aid fumes eliminator including a pipe communicating with abortion of the holdadjacent to the bottom thereof, and means so connecting said pipe with the screen that air will be supplied to the intake of the carburetor independently of the said pipe.

'2. A fumes eliminator for the hold of a boat and the like having an internal combustion engine including a carburetor having an connected to said intake and having a screen, the said fumes eliminator including a pipe communicating with a portion of the hold, and means connecting said pipe with said screen and occupying only a portion of said screen whereby air will be admitted to the carburetor through the remaining portion of the screen 3 independently of said pipe.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNI TED STATES PATENTS 1,679,678 Mulder Aug. 7, 1928 1,922,070 Anderson Aug. 15, 1933 2,097,279 Heftler Oct. 26, 1937 2,112,101 Kliesrath Mar. 22, 1938 2,198,792 Schjolin Apr. 30, 1940 intake and a flame arrester 

